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U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
FACT SHEET
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
(202) 712-43202002-018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2002Contact: USAID Press Office
In Uganda, USAID's support for the AIDS Information Center plays a key role in Uganda's success to reduce HIV prevalence. In addition to establishing reliable testing and high-quality client-centered counseling services, the Center introduced such innovations as rapid testing and community counseling and referral to reach a wider audience and improve the effectiveness of voluntary counseling and testing services.
Voluntary counseling and testing is an important component of HIV prevention and care strategies worldwide. Health programs supported by USAID promote and provide voluntary counseling and testing services in regions with high HIV prevalence. USAID programs have established testing centers, trained counselors, and supported community outreach workers in promoting voluntary counseling and testing and community acceptance of HIV/AIDS activities. Currently, USAID has voluntary counseling and testing programs in 20 countries.
High-quality counseling and knowledge of HIV status helps individuals assess their level of risk, develop realistic plans to reduce their risk, and increase safer sex practices. A three-country study in Kenya, Tanzania, and Trinidad and Tobago supported by USAID found that high-quality, anonymous, client-centered HIV counseling and testing helped reduce risky behavior. The study also found that counseling and testing services were affordable and cost-effective in developing-country settings. Voluntary counseling and testing services are essential for identifying women in need of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Voluntary counseling and testing can be a powerful tool for changing community perceptions of HIV and overcoming the stigma and denial that undermine HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and support efforts. National household-level health and family planning surveys in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe show that approximately 60 percent of adults want to know their HIV status. New studies in Africa show dramatic increases in demand for voluntary counseling and testing when services are accessible, affordable, and confidential.
Carefully designed radio, television, and print advertising increase awareness and use of counseling and testing services. In Zimbabwe, USAID-supported social marketing has resulted in a fourfold increase in client visits to 10 "New Start" voluntary counseling and testing centers launched by the Government of Zimbabwe since 1998. Rapid testing with "same-day results" also increases demand for voluntary counseling and testing services. USAID-supported services in Malawi found same-day results produced a fourfold increase in the number of clients and the proportion of clients who actually received their test results increased from 69 to 99.7 percent.
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